Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A Terrorist's Past
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Shin-ju slowly looked around the inside of the shipping container.
The interior had a typical American hippie style.
A tacky carpet, looking like it had been pulled from a donation bin, caught his eye, along with a shabby brown sofa that seemed like it would swallow your lower back if you sat on it.
Shin-ju looked down at the sofa with a pitying gaze.
No matter how well the Dragonkin could transform into human form, their weight was another story.
He let out a dry laugh.
Some things never change.
Meanwhile, Speeder, a whistle in her mouth, was looking at a family photo on a shelf.
Shin-ju also stood at a distance, looking at the picture.
In the photo, a stiff and awkwardly standing Restprime was visible, along with a remarkably beautiful Dragonkin woman holding his arm with a gentle smile.
And in the middle, smiling brightly, stood Kendro, looking completely different from his current timid self.
Judging by the background, the photo seemed to have been taken near the Statue of Liberty not long after they arrived on Earth.
Seen like this, they looked just like any other tourists.
Kendro, who had been hesitating, moved awkwardly.
“P-Please, have a seat…! I’ll get you a drink or something….”
Shin-ju chuckled to himself.
He was a polite kid, at least.
Shin-ju and Speeder glanced at the sofa, seemingly deciding they couldn't sit there, and settled on the floor instead.
Soon, a glass appeared before Shin-ju.
It was a fruit juice, made from a fruit the Dragonkin ate.
“Hmm….”
Shin-ju took a sip and made a peculiar expression.
It wasn't that it tasted good, but it wasn't bad either.
It tasted like the void of space.
“So, when will your father be back?”
Kendro looked up at the wall clock.
The clock read 9:30 PM.
“Ah, he should be here soon….”
“Dad’s home.”
Hearing the door open, Shin-ju and Speeder whipped their heads around.
Through the crack of the half-opened door, they could see the Titan-class Dragonkin, ‘Restprime,’ with his imposing, muscular build.
As soon as Restprime spotted Shin-ju, his eyes widened.
He was so startled that he slammed the door shut.
The door opened again, and Restprime stared at Shin-ju with a displeased expression.
“What the. Why are you here? For a second, I thought I’d come to the wrong house!”
Shin-ju sprang to his feet and offered a bold greeting.
“Well, hello! Have you been well, Restprime?”
Restprime slowly entered the house and spoke menacingly.
“I asked why you’re here!”
“Why else? I came to make sure you weren’t up to no good~.”
Shin-ju added a playful rhythm to the end of his sentence.
“I don’t do things like that anymore.”
Shin-ju’s eyes shot wide open.
“Of course you shouldn’t! But aren’t you up to something else now instead?”
*Grind-*
Restprime glared at Shin-ju as he hung his coat on a hanger.
“Hmph.”
Restprime glanced at the glass on the floor and said.
“Looks like your guest has been served. Now get out of my house.”
Before Restprime could even finish, Shin-ju cut to the chase.
“Are you perhaps working with Viper again, like last time?”
Shin-ju paused, then muttered to himself, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Or maybe he’s a new executive…?”
“Grrrrrrr-.”
Restprime let out a low growl.
His face began to shift into the form of a dragon.
Tension filled the face of Speeder, who had been listening quietly from the side.
A faint whistle escaped from her whistle.
“This is your last chance. Get out.”
*Rustle- rustle-*
Shin-ju was already flipping through the pages of the Old Book.
It was a form of threat.
“Are you paying your rent here on time?”
Restprime saw the Old Book and ground his teeth.
He clearly knew of the book’s existence.
“Charging the Dragonkin rent per head was a bit harsh, wasn’t it? It might as well have been blatant discrimination. But you know I was the one who barely managed to stop the public outcry to levy higher taxes on the Dragonkin, citing your high maintenance costs, right?”
Shin-ju said, as if taking credit.
“It doesn’t make sense, does it? It’s not like you people are rolling in money. Or have proper jobs.”
Shin-ju continued to flip through the Old Book, looking at Restprime.
“Still, the amount of damage has decreased compared to before. It would be nice if the housing support could be a bit more robust….”
Shin-ju shook his head.
“Even for Dragonkin, I think your treatment is too harsh. Don’t you agree?”
It sounded like he was sympathizing, but it was closer to a taunt.
The sound of the Old Book’s pages turning filled the air like white noise.
Shin-ju glanced around the home before looking at Restprime and asking.
“How many years have you been in this containment zone? I believe you were living here seven years ago, too.”
Restprime stood without a word.
Shin-ju continued speaking without pause.
“The Dragonkin tried all sorts of things to get out of here, right? Making relocation plans and what not? Of course, the cost of moving was substantial….”
Shin-ju, who had been looking around, faced Restprime directly.
“Back when we first met, you’d already been rejected by all the local governments, hadn’t you?
Then you foolishly cooperated with Bio Vanguard, who pretended to acknowledge your military strength, and recklessly seized air superiority to engage in a dogfight with US fighter jets.
And one of those jets, hit by your attack, ended up in the middle of the city….”
Shin-ju trailed off, glaring at Restprime.
Speeder, who had been watching the situation quietly, blew a small, mournful note on her whistle.
Restprime closed his eyes and sighed.
*Crackle, crackle*
A fighter jet was embedded in the top of a high-rise building.
The jet’s surface was corroded to the point that it was impossible to tell what kind of attack had hit it.
*Fwoosh-*
Suddenly, the rear of the jet burst into flames.
[Aaaahhh!!]
Below the jet, people covered in shards of glass lay bleeding and collapsed.
[Help us-!!]
[Ambulance-!!! Call an ambulance-!!]
[Mom-!! Mommy-!!]
*Screeeeeech-*
An eerie scraping sound came from above.
As people looked up, the jet tilted downwards.
[It’s… It’s falling!!]
[Noooo!!]
A mother shielded her son with her body.
*KABOOM-*
The sound of an explosion rang out.
Meanwhile, a massive blue dragon hovering in the distant sky merely watched the tragedy unfold.
Then, a shadow whip flew from somewhere and struck the dragon.
Restprime opened his eyes.
The atmosphere had softened considerably.
“Back then, you didn’t care what happened to the humans, did you? Am I wrong?”
Meanwhile, Shin-ju could grasp his situation—no, the situation of the entire Dragon Race—in an instant.
The fact that they still couldn’t leave this place meant that despite all the chaos they caused seven years ago, their circumstances hadn’t changed at all.
If anything, Restprime’s actions had driven his own kind into a corner.
“Fine. I’ll be honest.”
Shin-ju nodded as if to say he was listening.
“Go on.”
“I took out a private loan from Bio Vanguard.”
“That explains it.”
Shin-ju had an ‘I knew it’ expression.
It was undoubtedly for reparations and compensation for the victims.
Restprime paid him no mind and continued speaking.
“I’m just working to pay it back.”
“What kind of work?”
“…You’re a Negotiator, right?”
Restprime asked out of the blue.
Shin-ju raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘What of it?’
“Let’s make a deal.”
Shin-ju immediately understood what the straightforward Restprime was getting at.
“Information sharing?”
Restprime nodded.
“That’s right. I’ll give you information on Bio Vanguard, so protect my family.”
Shin-ju smiled and pointed a finger at Restprime, as if pleased.
“Heh… You’ve become much more flexible. That’s a very admirable way of thinking.”
Shin-ju looked around.
Soon, his eyes landed on the dining table.
Then he looked up, as if suddenly remembering something he’d forgotten.
“Ah, now that you mention it, there was something I really wanted to ask you….”
He pointed to the dining table and gave a smooth nod.
“Shall we proceed with the negotiations, then?”
A vast universe spread across the ceiling.
Beneath a Milky Way that looked ready to pour down, a massive pillar stood tall in the middle of a vast, empty space.
And before the pillar, the succubus demon alien who had worked as a waiter at Goodfellas appeared.
Dressed in a nun’s habit, she knelt on one knee with her eyes closed.
“Lord Viper.”
*Sliiiither-*
From the darkness, a giant, cobra-shaped alien slithered down the pillar.
His form, resembling the tentacle of some colossal being, was enough to inspire an indescribable terror.
*Hssssssssss-*
“Yes. Speak.”
His true name was ‘Bokelemimvter’.
He looked down at the succubus demon.
“Yes. We have just completed the preparations for phase two.”
Viper raised his head and looked up at the universe spread across the ceiling.
“Hssss- Good. Good. It won’t be long now.”
Viper rubbed his slender hands together.
“That M.I.X fellow, how are things progressing with that human woman?”
The succubus demon replied mechanically, her posture unwavering.
“Everything is proceeding smoothly. Bluerobic’s SSS-class hero, ‘Furen Tankobichi,’ will be arriving on Earth soon.”
“Hssssss- Good. Good. A fine colosseum is being built.”
Viper nodded in satisfaction.
Western Europe and the Middle East were a given, of course.
But the satisfied look on Viper’s face slowly hardened.
“That Korean cop….”
Viper stroked his chin.
“That bastard is the problem.”
The existence of that Old Book he carries.
An unidentified being, a so-called ‘Cosmic Wanderer,’ left his legacy to a mere earthling.
That absolute object, the only thing that can stand against the Planet Destroyer.
“Why, of all people…”
Viper closed his eyes for a moment, as if troubled.
Then he opened them again and looked down at the succubus.
“What is that bastard doing now?”
“He has met with Restprime.”
Viper snorted as if he had expected as much.
“Hmph. For a mere insignificant creature, he’s struggling quite desperately.”
Viper shook his head.
“It would be so much better if they just left everything to the natural order of things.”
Viper, who had been lost in thought for a moment, now asked the succubus demon with a voice full of conviction.
“The date for the plan?”
“In exactly two days.”
“Hssssik- Good. Good. Let us bring salvation to those poor Dragonkin.”
Viper muttered, gazing into the distance.
“For they are beings who should never be oppressed by insignificant creatures like earthlings.”
Viper raised his head.
The vast universe poured into his yellow eyes.
One by one, the stars on the ceiling began to shine.
“East Asia has Bluerobic, America has DRG-3000, and Western Europe has the Frontline.”
Viper smiled, a look of ecstasy on his face.
Then he spread his arms and shouted.
His voice scattered into the void.
“Everything is according to His will.”